Badness

So the point of being a "Bad Awnt," as I mentioned before, is that you get to teach your nieces and nephews things that will drive your siblings crazy.

Even though B.A. Laura lives on the complete opposite side of the country she seems to have taught Drew two bad habits of hers...

Thumb-sucking

And the all-too powerful pout

This isn't even the full-fledged pout!  I know he will win me over many-a time with this.  Dad is fairly pout resistant... I know, I've tried!  But I have a feeling this one might win him over too.

A Very Merry Unbirthday

I keep saying that today is Drew's "one month birthday," but it isn't technically a birthday.  So I guess you could call it an "unbirthday" if you're into the whole Alice in Wonderland thing.  Either way, Drew is one month old today!

It's so hard to believe it's been a month already, and yet it's already hard to remember what life was like without him!

In just one month I've learned so much about this little "thing" that wiggled and squirmed inside of me...

I've learned that...Drew grunts rather than cries when he's hungry.

I've learned that...if I place him face down on my chest he is likely to wiggle his way all the way down to my boob, where he will subsequently begin licking my clothing (until the barrier is removed, of course).

He's actually just sleeping this time... unusual for him!

I've learned that...if he falls asleep while eating and I try to "pop him off" he will grunt at me.  If I do manage to unattach him he will throw his hands up by his face and lift his eyebrows as if saying, "how dare you!?"(all while still asleep).

I've learned that...if the noise in his diaper sounds like a real fart, that's probably all it is.  If it sounds like someone sat on a tomato, however, then we might have problems.

I've learned that...it matters which way "it" is aimed in his diaper.... If I don't point it down it likely means a soaking wet side and a necessary change of wardrobe.

See what happens??

I've learned that...Drew likes to "hold" his pacifier in his mouth by placing his fist on it.  At first I thought it was an accident, but he does it frequently..

Remember this one?

I've learned that...he loves his swing and almost always falls asleep when he's in it.

 So cozy!

I've learned that...He enjoys play time on his mat or in the pack n' play, but he also enjoys quiet time where he just observes his surroundings.

 Hi!!

I've learned that... Drew loves to talk (just like Mom)!  He makes some of the cutest happy noises while he plays on his mat, but he also makes angry noises.  My favorite is when he gets the pacifier in his mouth when he's fussing and he grumbles and sucks furiously.

I've learned that... every single person who told me "you don't understand love until you have a child" was absolutely 100% right.  I can't believe it's possible to love someone this much and I can't believe that the love gets stronger each and every day... cheesy I know, but it's true!

Happy Birthday Grandma!

Drew and I tried to make a cute "Happy Birthday Grandma" onesie for him to surprise Grandma with this morning... but the iron-on kit didn't work right, so instead we just had a thing that looks like a silly little sticker in front of him.  Oh well, Grandma and I had fun dyeing onesies yesterday anyway (she did not know I already had plans for one of them!)

Here is Drew playing "patty cake" with Grandma.  He even gave her a smile for her birthday! (I didn't quite catch it on camera).

Drew's one month birthday should have been today as well, but he made it evident that he was not going to arrive when anyone thought he would.  He just wanted his own special day!

Gooool!

Okay, so maybe Drew's not going to play golf or basketball, or even be a model... maybe he's going to play soccer!



Just look at that precision! ;)

He really seems to like this play mat... he just "talks" away as he kicks and plays.  And I love the way he kicks and squirms- that's why I call him my Drewdle Bug!

And just for fun, here's another short one... listen carefully in the beginning...

Blue Steel

Dad wants Drew to play basketball or golf, but I think he wants to be a model...

I think he might already have some contracts with Nike and Air Jordan...

Put 'em up

This one looks suspiciously like he's practicing his "blue steel" look... what do you think?

Maybe he was just practicing for his photo shoot today with Doll Eye's Photography.... photos to come!

23

In honor of Drew's 23 days of life, here he is sporting some Jordan attire....

Dad's ready to start shooting some hoops with him!


P.S. If you don't know, Michael Jordan was #23

Bad Aunts

Or should I say "awnts"?

Drew finally got to meet his Bad Awnt Laura yesterday!!  She flew in from San Francisco just to meet him!  And he made sure to be dressed appropriately!

Drew also got to meet the original "Bad Awnt" yesterday, who is now GREAT Bad Awnt Sue!!

Where did the title "Bad Awnt" come from?  Well, first off, the "awnt" part comes from our move from Canada to Georgia.  When we moved down here we discovered people said "awnt" instead of "ant".  My Aunt Sue loved how distinguished it sounded, so she adopted the title "Awnt".  The "bad" part?  Well, isn't every aunt supposed to be bad?  They're the ones who get to teach all the bad and annoying habits, right? Sue was especially good at this, teaching us to make all sorts of annoying sounds, teaching us to slurp from tea saucers... the list goes on. 

And so the "Bad Awnt" wand is being passed now, and Drew, I'm sure, will learn all sorts of annoying (but fun!) things from Bad Awnt Laura... with some help from Great Bad Awnt Sue!

Drewless

To celebrate our anniversary Jason and I went out to dinner last night... alone!  You'd think it wouldn't be that big of a deal, "you've only had the kid for 2 weeks!" but you get rather used to having him around.  I know even Jason found it a bit odd to be "Drewless," but for me, after having had him with me 24/7 for 9.5 (actually, more like 10) months and having to "reattach" him every couple of hours or so, it was pretty hard.  I constantly felt like something was "missing".

We planned everything pretty well.  We didn't plan a specific time to go out knowing that it would really depend on Drew.  He decided he was hungry around 4:30 and that's when it was "go time".  After he ate I quickly got showered and dressed (and prettified of course) then we headed to Jason's dad and step-mom's house.  Drew actually managed to stay awake for the 1/2 hour car ride, so when we arrived at their house 2 hours after he last ate he was perfectly hungry.  I fed him and changed him, did the whole "here's where everything is" thing, and we headed out.  The biggest kink was that he didn't fall asleep even while feeding, so I was a bit worried as we headed out the door that he was going to stay awake and decide he was hungry again before we returned.  We have not yet introduced bottles, and don't plan to for a few more weeks, so I had left some expressed milk and a syringe but was hoping not to have to go that route.  Thankfully he fell asleep shortly after we left (you know I had to check-in... if I hadn't you wouldn't believe this was me writing!).

Dinner was delicious!  We actually treated ourselves and went to a cute place in a downtown city square and splurged on steaks.  I finally understand why some places charge so much for their food- even their vegetables were to-die-for! (In fact, even the "chex mix" they served when we first got there was fantastic, who knew!?)

We enjoyed having some time just the two of us.  As much as I was reluctant to leave Drew, especially so early and before we've introduced bottles, I knew it was important for us to have some alone time and really just enjoy each other.  There hasn't been a lot of that since our new arrival and alone time will probably be hard to come by as the years go on, but I think it's so important to remember that we're a couple first (that's how Drew got here!) and to take care of that relationship so that everything else falls into place.  I tried my best not to talk about Drew (okay, not to talk excessively about Drew... he turned 2 weeks yesterday after all!), and not to worry over him (I only did the one check-in!) so Jason would know I was enjoying my time with him.

And yes, everything was just fine.  Drew slept peacefully in his Nonny's arms pretty much the whole time we were gone (a whopping 3 hours!).  He actually continued to sleep so soundly on our trip home and after we returned that I couldn't even wake him to eat and had to pump!

Thank you Nonny and Poppy!

First comes love, then comes marriage...

Jason and I celebrate our two year wedding anniversary today!  Yay for us!

We have done a lot of amazing things in the 6 years we've been together....

1.  We have traveled to at least 14 states and 2 countries together 

 From the beaches of Costa Rica to the slopes of Washington state!

2.  We have both graduated from college

3.  We have bought a house

4.  We have taken in 2 crazy cats and 1 confused dog

 Rico                                                                Jibs

 Lucy

5.  We have gotten married! (Well, duh!)

6.  We have produced this perfectly wonderfully beautiful child

That shadow is doing something funky to my hair!

Looking forward to what the next years will bring!! I love you babe!

What's up, doc?

I first have to comment that the students I teach would not get the above reference. Sad, eh? Or is it? I tried to explain Sylvester cat's "sufferin' succotash" to my News Team kids one morning... that didn't go over so well.  I didn't realize that kids don't watch Loony Toons anymore!!

Anyways... back to the point... in Drew's less than 2 weeks of life he has already been to 3 doctor's appointments!!  One for him, one for me, and one was simply a weigh-in for him.

 I don't want to go to the doctor!

Drew is looking healthy and strong.  The doctor was impressed with just how pink he is (absolutely no signs of jaundice).  Everything else looked good too... including his poop.  Yup, we had a great time with that one.  After the exam the doctor told us we could go ahead and dress Drew again, but he had a poopy diaper so we attempted to change it while the doctor continued to talk to us.  As we were paying more attention to the doctor than to Drew we did not realize that something wasn't quite right... until Jason felt something wet in his flip flop. Oops! We have a boy! We scrambled to cover up.  Just when I thought he was finished and lifted the "clean" diaper, off he went again, spraying in the other direction.  We quickly scrambled to cover again, then... SPLAT!  What was that? Oh, that was a pile of liquidy yellow breastfed baby poo.  The doctor hadn't noticed what was going on until the loud noise and looked down to see liquid dripping everywhere off of the exam table.  "Oh my! Did he get me!?" he exclaimed as he jumped back.  Thankfully Drew did not dirty the doctor, but he sure did make a mess of the entire table!  We had to keep pulling new paper to try and get a spot dry enough to continue changing him!!  The doctor did get to witness that Drew's poop is in fact "yellow and seedy" as it is supposed to be though!

The doctor said I can have my paci!

On that note his weigh-in went extremely well too.  Did you know that babies often lose weight in their first few days of life? Drew dropped from 8 lb. 6 oz. to 7 lb. 11 oz. before we left the hospital.  By his first appointment he had gone up a little to 7 lb. 12 oz., but they wanted to check him again in a week.  Well, he's already at 8 lb. 12 oz! That means he gained a whole pound in a week! Yikes! Babies are supposed to gain back their birth weight within the first 2 weeks.  He's gained it back plus some and he's not even 2 weeks yet!  I asked the nurse if there was a such thing as gaining "too much".  She told me he's good.  I guess breastfeeding is going well though! Not being able to see how much he's eating (or that he's even eating at all!) means a lot of breastfeeding moms, including me, worry that their babes aren't getting enough.

Looks like I'm getting plenty, doesn't it?

My own appointment went well too.  It was my first appointment with my CF doctors since giving birth.  My lung function is already back up the 10% I dropped while pregnant! Awesome! And I'm not even back on my normal meds yet! It seems pregnancy overall was pretty good to me.  Their biggest concern is my weight.  It turns out I'm already below my pre-pregnancy weight.  I'm still in the "green zone" as they call it, but I can't lose anymore.  I didn't realize just how hard it was going to be though.  Did you know breastfeeding burns 800 calories a day? You actually need to take in more calories while breastfeeding than while pregnant!  I'm trying to train myself to snack while Drew is eating... but I often forget. My mom has been great buying all sorts of goodies to fatten me up like cookies and ice cream and key lime pie! I guess I should probably get some healthy snacks in there too....

Mom's belly is still nice and squishy!

Thank You Grandma!

This is a big thank you to Grandma Simpson for everything she has been doing for me, Jason, and Drew!  From watching Drew so I can shower or nap (such a hard job for a Grandma!) to cleaning, cooking, grocery shopping... you name it, she's done it for us!  On top of that it's been great to have her advice- does this poop look okay? Is he eating enough? What was that sound he made?  Should I feed him again?

What am I going to do next week when she's gone? Thankfully she'll be back the following week, but I may be getting a little less sleep and good cookin' for the week and I'm sure I'll appreciate even more how much she's been doing for us!!

Thank you Grandma!!

Will this kid ever stop...

Sleeping!?

Bet you didn't see that one coming!  Who complains about their kid sleeping??  Well, I'm not! Not exactly... Drew has been great- he loves to sleep, just like Mommy.  In fact he'll easily sleep right through feedings, which is part of the problem.... Mommy doesn't sleep anyway if Drew doesn't eat.  I get so uncomfortable!  On top of that he often sleeps while feeding.  The lactation consultant at the hospital said to wake him if he falls asleep while eating because he isn't really getting nourishment if he's "comfort feeding".  Well, how about you try to wake this kid!  I've tried everything from diaper changes to tickling to actually putting a cold wet cloth right on his belly and he won't wake up!  My solution?  First and foremost: enjoy the fact that he sleeps so well!  Second, get a breast pump and simply pump in the middle of the night (or during the day...) when he won't wake.

My sleepy baby

He doesn't sleep all the time though.  Yes, once he's asleep he's nearly impossible to wake, but he does spend plenty of time awake, looking something like this...

He just loves to observe his surroundings and take in all the people who come to visit.  I'm amazed at the fact that he will spend hours awake quietly studying everything around him.  I've woken in the morning to find him awake in the bassinet just looking around.

Can I really have a kid that loves to sleep, and yet is so calm and easy-going while awake??  I guess he got the best from both parents- mom's love for sleep and dad's laid back nature.  I'm hoping this will just be his personality, but I'm also making sure to enjoy it now in case it doesn't last.

I have to say... I just love this kid!

Happy One Week Birthday Drew!

Drew is one week old today.  It doesn't even feel like it's been a week yet!  Time has already flown, I can only imagine how the next 18 years will be!

One week ago today Drew made his slow entrance into the world.  If he made anything clear it was that he was not going to be rushed into anything!

I started having "contractions" Sunday night, but they were very mild and not really timeable.  I slept through most of the night and even slept a good 3 hour interval before I started waking up more frequently.  Monday morning I was pretty sure things were getting started but still didn't really feel like the contractions were timeable, nor were they unmanageable so I decided to just go ahead and go to my regularly scheduled OB visit that day at 11 and see what the doctor had to say.  Turns out I was already 4-5 cm dilated; she wanted me to go ahead and go to the hospital.

I called my doula Kim for advice.  She said I was getting close to being in active labor and maybe wanted to stay kind of close to the hospital since I had dilated so quickly without much "work".  I decided to get some lunch, head home and pick up a few last minute things, then headed to the hospital.

We had to wait a good hour or so in the waiting room at the hospital before going through triage (where they decide if you're in active enough labor to admit you).  Contractions were starting to get more intense so I lost track of time.  By the time I did get into a room I was already 9.5 cm dilated- almost time to push!  How did that happen!?  My contractions had never been closer than 4 minutes apart. What happened to "transition"?  We were sure Drew was going to arrive by dinner time at the pace things were going.


Well, hours passed and I felt no urge to push. Contractions were still coming every 4 minutes; I breathed and tried to relax through them with lots of help from Jason and Kim.  Between contractions I kept falling asleep. I finally decided to have the doctor break my water hoping it might speed things along.  Still nothing.  A few more hours, midnight passed, and we finally decided it was time to do "guided pushing" since I still was feeling no urge to push.  After an hour of pushing Drew finally arrived at 1:25 am on Tuesday, June 29th.  He was almost 2 weeks late and he still didn't make it on the day we thought he'd arrive!  This little guy knows no time schedules! Guess he takes after Mom...

The hospital was awesome.  I never even gave them my birth plan and yet I got everything I wanted, including holding Drew right away- yup, before they even cleaned him up!  I only said once that I was going naturally and they never offered an epidural.  When things started taking a while and they were concerned about Drew handling everything ok they sought out and hooked me up to wireless monitors so I could still move around the room but be constantly monitored.  The nurse even had to take a while to find the machines and get them working, but she did.  On top of all that the doctor I ended up having was 6 months pregnant herself!  I asked her after the delivery if she planned on having an epidural, and she said she wanted to go naturally too!  She said that I was a real inspiration, so I told her about the classes I took.  It turns out she had just been checking them out online that morning!

Happy one week birthday, Andrew!

This is my version of our birth story... Kim, my doula, is writing a more detailed one that I will post later when I get it.  I was honestly shocked when I realized that it was no longer Monday the 28th; time had passed almost meaninglessly to me!  I can't wait to see Kim's version and see an actual "time line" of events.

Happy Fourth of July!

 

For the fourth we made our first outing with Drew.  We took him up to my parent's lakehouse for the night.  It was a fun trip; I was glad to get out of the house, but it was a good taste of what traveling with a baby is like!  I was all set and ready to go with the pack n' play in the van, the diaper bag (with countless diapers and clothing changes), the boppy, the bathtub (my mom promised to help bathe him), etc., then I realized "oh! I need to pack for myself!!".  Ugh.

Drew enjoyed sitting in the shade by the dock making faces at Mommy.

 

 

 

 

 

He also sported an all-American outfit for the occasion, check out his bum!

 

If it looks like I was crying it's because I was... he was just too darn cute!  How can this be mine!?

The trip was fun, but exhausting!

Not enough pics? Check out more here.